glen goffin photography

Portraits Victorian Style

2010-07-07T06:01:00.000-07:00

This past holiday weekend, MJ and I spent a few hours window-shopping in Doylestown and, of course, popping into used bookstores. I love used bookstores. There's that musty scent that I imagine inside ancient Egyptian crypts. Press the right stone to find a room full of golden statutes and sarcophagi. As you scan shelf upon shelf of poetry and art and photography ... of travel and entertainment ... time seems to stop. You are transported to the Louvre or to Robinson Crusoe's island or the Heart of Africa.

(A few months earlier)

Mike over at TOP referenced a book from the National Portrait Gallery. I was captivated by the cover shot. My wife and son were kind enough to find a copy for me for Father's day. It is a sampling of notable portraits from the gallery compiled in choronological order from the early days of photography to the mid-20th century. The cover (above) is an image of Virginia Woolf by photographer .... I fell in love (again) with the character and drama evoked by the Victorian portraitists. Is it procedural ... yes. Is it formulaic ... yes. Is it programmed ... yes. Is it enchanting and captivating and pleasant and powerful ... quadruple yes! Don't argue with me, argue with the image above. (PS - for the geeks like me - This shot violates the rules for classic full-profile. Would it have been quite as powerful? Rules are made to be broken.)

(fast forward back to today)

After stumbling into one of the hidden antechambers of the bookstore, I unearthed two complete treasures. One cost me $3.95 and the other cost me $4.95. I think I would've willingly paid 5 times that much. One man's garbage is another man's ... errr ... future garbage. But all kidding aside, these are keepers.

The First Treasure - Phaidon Press, "55: Julia Margaret Cameron"
This "55" series book by Phaidon is about 4 inches square and fits in your pocket. If you can find any of these, buy them! And Cameron's work is such a treasure. Here are a couple of examples.

I haven't found the title for this one yet. Here is the link for where it was posted. (http://weblog.bezembinder.nl/27.htm)

I really enjoy the softness that this chemistry and paper gives but combined with the intensity of the pose. I can almost hear her ... "wherefore art thou Romeo?"

"A Study of Cenci-May" (Cameron)

I especially love the use of layered textures here with the head wrap and her hair. The framing is odd but Cameron was pushing the boundaries of her day. The tones are exquisite. The pose is that dramatic pensive and somewhat sad pose typical of the day but Cenci-May had just the hint of a smirk.

I'll reveal my second great bookstore treasure in the next post.

Peace,
Glen

Improving Your Self-Portraits

2010-06-28T12:13:00.000-07:00

Ok, maybe it's cheating. But one sure fire way to make yourself look better ... Press a pretty girl against your face. See how it did wonders for me!

MJ was on her way out to meet some friends and, since she was dressed up anyway, I grabbed her for some quick portrait practice. We have some pretty good sized windows in our bedroom that happen to face north-ish. So I quickly setup the tripod, grabbed a gold reflector panel and my wife and squeezed. The shutter. I squeezed the shutter button. Ok, maybe I squeezed MJ, too. Hey, whatever it takes to get a smile!

I heard it said somewhere recently (I think it was from Chuck Arlund) that it is easier to warm up a portrait than it is to remove a yellow cast. So he doesn't shoot with gold reflectors but with silver ones. Since silver ones are actually neutral color, what is really happening is that the color cast of the natural light is being carried as-is. No additional warming.

I agree with him about yellow cast removal. For some reason skin tones get all finicky when you remove yellow. I haven't figured out exactly why that is yet. Of course, skin tones contain a lot of yellow, but even keeping that in mind, it seems to be difficult to do. This shot was an example. I used a gold reflector panel and it added a goldish hue. Not entirely unattractive but not entirely natural looking either. Every attempt to neutralize it made it look worse.

BTW - Speaking of Chuck Arlund and Niel van Niekirk. If you haven't read their blogs, it is very good reading. Both of them share quite liberally their lessons and techniques especially related to flash / strobe work. Check them out here:

Neil Van Niekirk

Chuck Arlund

Peace,
Glen

Practice, Practice, Practice

2010-06-20T17:22:00.000-07:00

Question - What do you do when you have some rare free time, you need an image of yourself and need portrait practice?

Answer - Take on a fool for a client.

This little exercise started innocently enough. I woke up early one Saturday and decided to try to update my self-portrait. Then I thought, what the heck, let me practice my lighting too. Out comes the umbrella, strobe and radios. The result ... I now have a deep and abiding sympathy for my subjects!! I'll post a few of the 69 outtakes here (did I really take that many shots!? Wow)

If you haven't tried this experiment, you might want to try it. You really can't appreciate how difficult it is to model until you try it. Just the subtlest attitude changes make dramatic difference in the vibe of the image. The tiniest corner of a smile ... the teensiest tilt of the head ... imperceptible things are completely perceptible. No, they are more than perceptible. They change the mood of the image completely. I realized that the only way to get what I wanted wasn't to think about the mechanics - the where and the what - but to relax and take on the attitude I wanted. Now for secret confessions - I like to watch "America's Next Top Model" - and this exercise gave me a deeper appreciation for the special talent that it takes to be a model ... or an actor, for that matter.

This is just more proof (to me) that great portraits come from great photographer-client relationship and the inner emotion of the client gets amplified on film.

Ok ... see for yourselves.

PS - I plan to use this with my clients as a tutorial on what NOT to do.

One of the few reasonably natural poses of the morning. There is a 580exii behind a shoot-through umbrella just out of frame on the right. I tried a color treatment on this. Sort of a cross-process vibe. Why do these treatments always look good in LR but never when I post them!?

What up!? The Eminem version. Gleninem, I guess. Experimenting with some lyrical lines to break up the angular background. Interesting how it lengthens the neck. My ears are hidden in shadow which gives the effect of a hat.

Just for reference, this is how the morning started. Pretty humorous. This is just to illustrate the difference the better lighting and clothing can accomplish. No detail is too small, really.

Head tilted back. "Aloof me".

These next three are just examples of how the slightest head tilt dramatically changes the attitude of the image. That's why good models are hard to find. For editorial, that is. For the rest of us, I realized how true it is - just relax and be yourself.

Head tilted to the side. "Relaxed me"

Head down and forward. "Stern me".

Amazing what a difference this little tilt of the head made.

The human face is so amazingly expressive. That's why I love love love to photograph them. Except of course when it's mine!

Peace,
Glen

PS - as I study these, I realize that using an umbrella was a poor choice here. A softbox would have been smarter to keep the spill off the background and keep better separation. What a great learning exercise this turned out to be!

PPS - I was shooting my backup camera (Nikon D80) in JPEG with a Sigma zoom. I'd like to repeat this with my 5Dmkii and in RAW.

Canon 35mm f/1.4 Impressions

2010-06-17T17:58:00.000-07:00

So MJ, David and I went to Israel on vacation. This image is from the ampitheater at Caesarea. What a great trip, btw. Our guide was a blast ... and so so knowledgeable. We decided he was a mix between Marty Feldman and Yoda. More on that next post.

Before the trip, I really struggled with what kit to bring. In the end, I decided to go light and brought my trusty 85mm and a rented 35mm f/1.4. I brought the 35 because I was in this crisis of decision for a mid-range prime ... 35mm or 50mm? I wanted a lens that gives us some context. A lens that tells more story. But I also want it to flatter my brides and grooms. I was afraid the 35mm would make for some big noses.

So what's the verdict?

I loved it. Totally. The image at the top shows that this lens has the "magic". Color, bokeh, sharpness, perspective ... all beautiful. The size is that perfect feel of not too big and not too small. I will say that the the vignetting can be a bit pronounced. But I like that. I usually add vignetting in post anyway. If I had anything at all bad to say it might be that the bokeh can get just a bit squirrely. But in a way that is still visually appealing.

I came back from the trip with credit card in hand and placed my order. Weeks later ... no lens and no availability date.

Now what? So I took chance and purchased the 50mm f/1.2 instead. Did I do the right thing? Jury is still out. I'll post a few more from each lens and we can decide.

What do you think of this 35mm?

Peace,
Glen

Bounce Flash Woes in Concert

2010-06-16T05:25:00.000-07:00

I was recently hired to shoot some art for Wendy Schettig a local musician now cutting her second CD. She had asked if I might come and shoot a concert she was giving at a nearby coffee shop. The coffee shop was quite dark but the challenge with concert photography is that you can't easily setup the kind of lighting you might want.

Here I chose to use some on-camera bounce flash with a Honl hood to narrow the direction a bit more. The venue was very small so I used a 70-200mm and shot from the sides. The obvious problem ... STUFF! Music stands, mic stands, guitar heads and tuners ... grrrrr.

All in all, the bounce flash seemed to work. There is a bit of shine on Wendy's face but that can be easily fixed. Fortunately, I kept the overall level low enough that the overheads acted as weak rim lights and added some highlights to her hair.

Lesson - remember to use the CTO gels! As you can see here, I didn't blend the light color well enough so white balance was a nightmare. I had to try to adjust for skin tone but it left the very yellow light in her hair.

Props to those concert photogs out there. It ain't easy, that's for sure. But it is definitely fun.

Peace,

Glen

Brianna Graham and the Big Gun

2010-04-17T05:11:00.000-07:00

As promised, here is another sample shot from the new Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L USM IS II. These were backyard shots. This one of my wife with ambient light at 200mm and f/2.8. There is a bit (too much) of photoshop work here but you can see that the lens has nice sharpness and blur and is certainly a good portrait lens. The more I use it, the more I like. I still tend to just leave it at 200mm and use it like a prime because .... well ... that's how I roll.

I recently got turned on to Brianna Graham through Professional Photography Magazine where they posted this article written about her by Stephanie Boozer - "Color Theory". It is filled with luscious images of vibrant color and texture and some tips from Brianna. Well worth the 10 minutes it takes to read it. She is clearly an advocate for good strobe lighting and lots of post-processing but her color and texture sensibilities are outstanding and inspiring.

Until later - peace out bean sprouts,
Glen

The Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 USM IS II ... Hold Still You!!!

2010-04-14T18:48:00.000-07:00

Ok, I violated my own rule and now I'm wondering if I am going to have to kick my own butt. After weeks of research into the best telephoto lens to use for weddings, it came down to the prime 135mm f/2.0 or the brand new 70-200mm f/2.8 USM IS II zoom which just got released this month. I've always been a "prime-guy" for a lot of reasons so this would be a violation of my "prime-cipals".

On my way down to New York Camera on Saturday, I made a deal with myself. If they have the 70-200mm in stock, knowing how popular and hard it is to get, I'm going to get it. When the salesman returned with a box and a smile - I looked down and somehow my credit card had mysteriously appeared in my hand. The rest is a blur.

Fast forward - now I have this lens and it is BEAUTIFUL!! No doubt. But it is LOOONNNGGG! No, really. I mean it physically extends out a long long way from the body. Wow. It is exquisitely crafted in metal and has an almost mystical feel. I love holding it. Well, except for one thing. It is stinkin' HEAVY!! Maybe I'm spoiled by my 85mm (which I thought was heavy at the time). Dunno. Maybe this is what separates the pros from the amateurs - shoulder strength.

In an effort to tame this beast, I've begun research into the best way to hold it. I am typically a natural light photog so I generally run slightly longer exposures. And weddings don't typically afford the opportunity to let you rest the lens on anything. The IS (image stabilization) is killer on this lens but not quite enough for me unless I can find a way to hold this bazooka still. If not ... well ... anyone looking to buy an ever so slightly used 70-200mm USM IS II??

So ... here are some tips I've uncovered for holding a telephoto lens.

Boxer stance
I read a comment from "neonzu" that I found interesting.

I find shooting left-eye-to-the-viewfinder allows me to comfortably assume a stable “boxer” stance i.e. left foot forward,left elbow in to my left side where there’s less movement from breathing, and hand on the zoom ring when appropriate (especially when panning on a subject that’s moving closer or farther).

Joe McNally - "Da Grip"
Joe illustrates his version of the "boxer stance" with a twist or two. My problem is that I'm a right-eye dominant shooter. Hmmm. Maybe it's time to change?

Advice from a Rifle Sniper
I also found some advice from a rifle expert (Costas) where he points to some sniper primers:

http://www.ultimatesniper.com/
http://www.snipersparadise.com/

So really, none of this is new. But now that I actually have to wield this hairy beast, these tips suddenly take on a whole new importance! Thanks to Joe McNally and everyone. You may have saved my butt from my own boot ... hmmm ... or else I'll realize I was right all along. Stick to primes. More later.

PS - if you're curious to see some example pics from the big gun, here are some quick shots in the back yard. No post processing on these samples so you can see what it does. All of these are at f/2.8 at varying focal lengths. The image at the top is also one. Perhaps I'll do an informal review, or at least some impressions of this lens. We'll see.

Peace,
Glen

94 A Short Side-Track

2010-04-13T15:46:00.000-07:00

For the former few weeks, I've been recounting my journey of website development exercising my marginally coherent babbling skills which is appropriate as it reasonably reflects my normal stream-of-consciousness. And, before things get too comfortably linear and predictable, let me take you on another completely off-track and unnecessary rabbit trail. The trail is short but the place you find will absorb you for hours. It is a collection of thoughts and thinkers that I find disconcertingly addicting - www.TED.com. Or, even more specifically: TED Gallery. Even if you don't agree with what they say, it challenges your preconceptions at the very least.

BUT WAIT ... before you go ... take a quick listen to this. Hopefully it will encourage you as much as it does me. Turn it up!

Jeremy Riddle - Sweetly Broken

Peace,
Glen

93 Blogger Tip - Adding a Flash Slideshow Header

2010-04-08T07:22:00.000-07:00

I'm really excited about the new "Blogger in Draft" features that Google have released. If you are a Google blogger, you really should try them. Simply go here: http://draft.blogger.com. There are two really cool features that I've begun to explore - Advanced Templates and CSS.

Hopefully you may have noticed that I now have this rad slideshow header. Previously, the editing tools didn't allow you to insert HTML or javascript references into the header banner. The best you could do was an image and a simple line of text. That's why most blogger sites have the same vibe. Along with that annoying blogger strip at the very very top. That's my next project - getting rid of that thing somehow.

Once you're in draft.blogger.com, navigate to the template designer, pick your template and then move to Layout (as above). You'll see that you now have a banner below the header (yay!). You'll have to leave template designer to update that widget. At the top of this screen is a menu item: "Back to Blogger". Use that and then go to Customize -> Layout. There you will be able to add script to your banner. It should look something like this:

Now you can edit each section. If you are a SmugMug user like me, you would add script like the following (sorry for the small type):

and VOILA! All I have to do is add images to a particular gallery and they get fed to the banner.

Peace,
Glen

PS - I've started a new site aimed at brides and wedding planners. Let me know what you think of it. http://glengoffin.blogspot.com

92 Being Teachable

2010-03-30T14:20:00.000-07:00

In David DuChemin's pixelatedimage:blog today, he used a phrase that I often use but have never written about - "having a teachable spirit". Coincidentally, there was an incident last night about being teachable on the TV show - "Dancing With the Stars". My wife was watching and I was playing "Photoshop gopher". You know, that's when you're hunkered down on the couch with Photoshop, you lift your eyes about 1/4 inch above the lid of your Macbook and, while keeping your head stationary, sweep your eyes quickly to-and-fro over the horizon. Then, seeing that all is safe, you pop your head back down again. You do this whenever you hear a sound that catches your attention ... especially if it is something that sounds like, "ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME!?!!"

On this episode, Kate Gosselin, of "Jon and Kate Plus Eight" and "I'm so controlling that I drove my husband insane" fame was being taught to dance by one of the the most famous dancers of today and she had the nerve to say - "Tony, you're a great dancer and teacher but you don't know how to teach ME well. You just don't understand ME." (translated: do it my way or the highway!). "Oh gee, Kate, I must have missed that course in dance school: 'How to teach Kate Gosselin to dance.'" That's what I would have said. Tony is more of a gentleman.

Her comment is patently absurd and incredibly insulting but was not unexpected considering the source. Kate is a poster-child for those who can't accept correction; those who don't have a teachable spirit. These people turn everything toward themselves. It's always about them. They are blinded by their self-myopia.

Being teachable is about humility. It is about accepting that we are not God's gift to the universe. We are all in-process. As it says in the Bible, "I am not what I WANT to be ... but I'm also not what I USED to be nor what I WILL be!" (my paraphrase). If we approach life with humility, we will be open to receive the gifts of wisdom and knowledge that others may offer us. Those are GIFTS! They were paid for by someone else and offered to us out of pure kindness. There's nothing worse than ungratefulness. There is a word for that kind of person - ingrate. Look it up.

I can't count how many times I have chosen NOT to share an important lesson or include someone in an opportunity simply because I did not think they would be appreciative and the opportunity would be wasted on them. Kind of like casting pearls before swine (not my words!). I also can't count the times I have included someone in a special opportunity simply because they were especially appreciative ... not even necessarily because they were the best choice or the most skilled.

Let's all learn to be humble, gracious, thankful, polite and ... teachable! Then doors of opportunity will suddenly begin opening that we didn't realize were even there.

Peace,
Glen

91 My Grandfather Invented a Flash Bracket ... Really!

2010-03-24T06:23:00.000-07:00

This the picture from my grandfather's (Arthur B. Fox) patent for a bracket attaching a bulb-flash to a camera. I thought I would do a little shout-out to him because last night it finally occurred to me to google his patents (English is such a wonderfully fluid language). He worked his whole career for Eastman Kodak after graduating MIT (magna cum laude). Why I waited this long I have no idea. I found two of them immediately. I think there are more. One is above and the other is for a "Daylight Film Development Cannister" located here.

Remember bulb-flashes? They were really cool! They had something like steel-wool (magnesium-fibers actually) inside that would make a popping sound and put out gobs of light. When we were kids we would stare at the bulb when they flashed and then have that blue spot burnt into our retinas for a week. Wait ... I can still see it when I close my eyes. Of course we did it mostly to watch our moms go appoplectic! "YOU'LL RUIN YOUR EYES!!!" Probably did. Of course, for fun, don't forget the Flash Cube!

Here's a picture of a Kodak Brownie that incorporated my grandfather's bracket.

{UPDATE - Upon closer examination, and a bit more research I realize that this is NOT the bracket in the patent. I remember him saying that he had done work on the Brownie so I assumed that it was. I'll do a bit more research to find out where that bracket got used.}

Next post I'll include a picture of my grandfather mostly to discuss the "classic" portrait style.

Boy am I thankful for DSLRs and modern strobes! There is so much more freedom to experiment. Mike over at TOP has lately been pointing out that that freedom can make us sloppy. The old disciplines where good ones to learn. Imagine, compose (in your mind), setup, shoot, wait for it to get developed, learn from you mistake. It was slower but it was methodical.

Anyhooo ... the evolution of the camera is a fascinating subject and I'm proud of my grandad that he contributed some important stuff. Way to go, Grampa!

Peace,
Glen

90 Designing Your Logo

2010-03-19T09:42:00.000-07:00

I hesitate to write this post. At least not quite yet. My present inability to commit to my own logo design is somewhat embarrassing. Maybe it's the perfectionist in me. But then again, hey, why would I let a little thing like ignorance stop me now?!

Your logo is a key tool in building your brand value. It becomes synonymous with your company and becomes the representation of all the the late nights, weekends, Big Macs, gallons of gas, heartburn, cheap hotels .... (remind me why we do this again?) ... all the tireless work building your business. Gulp! That's big stuff.

Designing your logo means first crystallizing exactly the mission, purpose and vision for your business (notice the recurring theme?).

This is what I want Glen Goffin Photography to stand for ...

Example of Refining the Message: Glen Goffin Photography

Wedding photography (or other special occasions)
Award winning photographers
Modern approach
Photo-journalistic style
Highly professional, prompt, courteous and helpful
Unobtrusive

Qualities of Your Logo

Memorable
Simple yet expressive
Embody the character of your business
For us photographers ... it should look good as a watermark!

Steps in designing your logo

Choose your "corporate" color theme (http://kuler.adobe.com): Opinions vary but some basic guidelines might be:; White/blue themes are very professional; Dark/black themes are very modern and edgy; Colorful themes are playful and less professional looking
Choose your font: This is an area I find fascinating and it is also where I am STUCK!; It is quite amazing how subtle font differences express such a difference in character and style. The block (non-serif) are modern and professional but also a bit sterile, in my opinion. The scripts are nice but can be unprofessional or even pretentious. HELP!!!
Choose your graphic: Low color count will save you printing costs on business cards ... just sayin!!; Less is more. If it gets too complicated, no one will remember it exactly. They are usually really basic shapes.; Usually uses your primary color

Study other logos and decide what you like and don't like. But don't copy. Be creative, it will mean more to you in the long run if your logo is uniquely yours. Then your business is your "baby" ... with no paternity dispute!

Here's what I have so far: http://www.glengoffin.com/
I feel that it is still a bit pretentious and a bit old-school. I'm trying to figure out how to make it fresh and clean and professional. Check in again tomorrow and it will likely be different ;D

Peace,
Glen

89 My Gallery - More on the Outline

2010-03-09T11:20:00.000-08:00

Remember, we established our website goals ... here.

One of those goals was to educate. Another was to provide a fun place to visit. By linking my website to my blogsite on the frontpage, I make it easy for folks who enjoy either or both to get from one to the other quickly. And all they have to remember is my name ... www.glengoffin.com ;D

One day I will likely migrate my blog to my own hosting service but that is difficult to rationalize when Blogger is free and ooooh so powerful!

Back to the Site Outline

Here is the basic outline of what I have so far. Still a work-in-progress.

Page	Content Items	Purpose
Front Page	Header: Main Menu	Mine includes: HOME, GALLERIES, CONTACTS, BLOG. The front page should be clean, simple and impacting as we discussed in the last post. Many people use Adobe FLASH animation here. I love that. I'm not at that level yet. A nice HTML page with static pictures can also look good.
Front Page	Gallery Entries	These include pictures to illustrate what each gallery is about.
Front Page	Recent Photos	I put this here for frequent visitors to quickly find the new pics I've added. This is for the fans of the site. My hope is to have more and more wedding photos show up here.
Front Page	Footer	I have my standard copyright warning and here is where Smugmug inserts themselves whether you like it or not. The Smugmug footer is one of my main beefs with Smugmug.
Wedding Galleries	pictures	Here you can view my wedding work
Travel Galleries	pictures	For viewing my travel work
Art Galleries	pictures	Any special images I may have
Guestbook	journal entries	I'm debating whether to have a "fan-club" kind of thing and send special deals to my fans.
Contact Info	my contact info and calendar	This is where people can reach me. I also plan to have my calendar here so brides/grooms can see if I'm available on their day.
Blog		This actually links over to my Blogger site.

Even as I wrote this, I realized how little actual thought I've put into this structure. Hmmm ... gotta visit a few more sites and collect some more ideas :D

I've begun investigating the website development tools like, well NOT dreamweaver because it is too expensive, but other free tools. So far I haven't hit upon anything that would fit well with Smugmug. Most of the tools assume you can publish the whole set of pages to a directory on a hosting server.

Oh ... one more thing, if you've followed along this far, I've assumed you know about using FireFox with the "Web Development" plugin. But if you don't .... google it!

Ok, this is more than a bite-ful. More for later.

Peace,
Glen

PS - If you're interested in seeing some of Jeff Bridges (yes, that Jeff Bridges) photography go HERE. He is an avid photographer and has a creative gallery.

88 Creating Your Gallery - The Landing Zone

2010-03-08T06:38:00.000-08:00

Welcome back. OK, now that we've decided on our goals for our website, let's start designing it.

Site Outline

With your goals clearly in mind, it is now important to create the outline for your website. These are the bones on which you will add the flesh. Here, before you dive in, you need to map out the web pages; creating the directory, if you will.

Your Entry Page

This is where your easy to read and remember domain name should lead people. If you are asking yourself, "What is a domain name and be careful with that thing or someone's gonna get hurt!" I'll try to write another post showing you how to operate that kind of heavy equipment with the proper safety measures. Just kidding. It couldn't be easier.

Otherwise, by now we each should have registered our own domain for $7.95 a year (it's cheap, just do it) with one of the many many registrars out there. Something in the form of www.ashortandmemorablename.com. Of course, the shortandmemorablename part should be your business name, if you have one. Point this to your entry page so that if someone types this in their browser they land here. Because, in two weeks, the only thing your prospective client *MAY* remember is the somethingshortandmemorable part.

For those that are REALLY serious, buy more than one domain name and point them all to your site. For me, it is www.glengoffin.com and www.glengoffinphotography.com.

This is also the key point where your gallery or website hosting service comes in. Smugmug makes it pretty easy to do all this. They even have their own domain registry partnership with GoDaddy and can automatically point your domain to your Smugmug site. If you are interested, go HERE.

Favorable First Impressions ... Or Just More Internet Noise?

This is your first chance to make your first impression. Oh, right, it's also your last chance. Stick the landing! You know that one image you shot that always gets an, "oooh ... nice!" This is where that one goes.

Having said that. I took a different strategy. Rules are meant to be broken. I have (IMHO) enough decent shots that I put some of the "really decent but not my best" ones on the front page and left the rest to add as hidden gems for later pages. That way, explorers will hopefully find my site progressively more delightful the deeper they go ;D

Wow ... there's a lot to say. I try to keep these blog posts to little bite-size chunks so I'm going to continue this section in the next post.

Peace,
Glen

PS - Another site with some basics is here

PPS - Note to self: Don't chop your models off at the knees anymore.

87 Creating My Photo Gallery - Part 1

2010-03-04T07:58:00.000-08:00

Every photographer needs a gallery. Art is meant to be shared and appreciated.

As you all know, Cisco Kid, he was a friend of mine. But Flickr ... not so much. However, for those that like it, it is a great (read "free") choice. Just resist the pandering. That's my only big beef.

Regular readers here know that I've chosen Smugmug as my hosting service for Glen Goffin Photography. For the past many weeks I've been learning the in's and out's of Smugmug. I thought I would share some of what I've learned in case it helps.

First Things First

Before anything, we need to decide on the basic purpose of our website.

My goals for my webportal include:

Website Goals

I want it to be the focal point for my business and to be an enjoyable place to visit often.
Impress prospective clients with -
   - Professionalism
   - Attention to detail
   - Most importantly - artistry
To educate - an educated customer is a happy customer
Provide a fun place for prospective clients (engaged couples) to choose the style of wedding photography that they like and want even if they DON'T choose us.
Make very clear what we do provide and what we don't provide to avoid any possible misunderstandings.
Make it easy and fun for clients to select the type of wedding package and products that they prefer.
Provide contact information and planning information such as calendar of availability to simplify their planning.
Generate new customer contacts through offerings.

Ok, now with those goals in mind, step two is to outline the website. But that's for my next post ... hehehe

Peace,
Glen

On a completely different subject you just have to see this:
Transformation

All of us with sons and daughters need to let our kids see that.

86 Fortuitous Light

2010-02-20T19:15:00.000-08:00

This beautiful rim-lighting of these cute little ring-bearers was pure luck. Another photographer just happened to flash at the right moment (for me that is).

I'll take luck wherever I can, no issue there. But trying to time my shots to coincide with someone else's just doesn't sound like a smart idea.

So I ask myself whether I could've planned this shot. Could I have pre-placed a flash at the alter ... aimed it down the walkway and caught this shot? Ummmm ... yes ... possibly ... meanwhile wasting a ton of time and opportunity to capture other amazing shots.

What does all this mean? Well, it proves you need more than just ambient light sometimes. But putting it where it needs to be isn't easy. But then again, if it was easy, everyone would do it.

This was processed with Nik SEP. I think it still needs a bit more contrast and overall pop. I'll probably keep tweaking it.

Peace,
Glen

85 Oozing Nik-aliciousness

2010-02-13T18:49:00.000-08:00

Ummm ... no ... that's not a reference to some kind of festering sore or the creme-broulee center of a chocolate bon-bon. Nik Efex is a great suite of plug-ins for Lightroom or Photoshop.

So I chiseled-me some pesos from my Pay-Pal account and purchased the Nik Efex Pro Complete Suite for Lightroom including: Silver Efex Pro, Vivenza, Dfine, Sharpener and Color Efex Pro. Here are some reactions after having used these for a couple of days.

First let me say ... I LOVE working in Lightroom! It just feels like home to me surrounded by my photos all within easy reach. And the fact that these plug-ins just auto-magically show up under Photo > Edit In > ... is fun-tastic!

Maybe this post I'll talk about Nik Silver Efex Pro first. So once you've found your image in lightroom and twiddled your favorite knobs or pulled your favorite curves and you've gotten your color to that perfect white balance and "density" (high-key, low-key or latch-key), you decide it's time to see it in B&W. You hit the drop down menu and voila, SEP opens up and asks you if you want to edit the original, a copy of the original or a copy of the adjusted image after applying your LR settings. I pick the latter. SEP makes a copy so that we don't offend the "Society for Protection of Cruelty to Photographs" or ... ummm ... SPCP for short. On a side note ... I've be seeing a lot of photographs lately that have been severely abused. I really need to take this matter up with the SPCP.

Once in SEP, you now have a set of quick settings from which to choose including a preview of what would happen to your image with each one. You really have to pick at least one to start because it defaults to the first on the list otherwise. The names are totally old-school and I could almost smell the developer, acid baths, fixers and hundreds of other toxic chemicals we used to breath. Names like "Push N+1" at least help you to pretend you're going old-school. Once chosen, from here you can do just about anything you want.

Some of the really nice options include a good long list of "film type" selections that intend to emulate the characteristics of the classic films. This is one of my favorite features. HP5, or Tri-X or Pan. How wonderful! You can add grain to-taste with control of grain size and softness. Of course you can modify the tone-mapping on a per-color basis as you would expect. Vignetting and border burning are provided.

Oh, and of course the Nik U-Point technology that they are most known for allows you to quickly dodge, burn or tweak to your hearts content.

One thing I miss, however, is a history list. In fact, I've not yet even found an undo. Not to fear, though. Your settings aren't saved until you hit "save" and you can always start from the beginning again if need be. They have taken the approach that you can undo by simply moving the sliders back where they started.

All-in-all ... I love SEP. But of course the proof's in the pudding. Here is an example pic. More to come. We'll see if they ooze silvery drama ... or just ... errr ... ooze.

This one uses only Lightroom.

Nik Silver Efex Pro
- Film Type: Agfa APX Pro 100
- Split tone
- 3 control points (hair and two on jacket)
- Vignette and grain

And just for fun, here's a special effect ....
Nik Silver Efex Pro
- Antique Plate II
- That's it ... no other processing

Next ... Nik Color Efex Pro
Peace,
Glen

84 B&W Ramblings

2010-01-28T10:52:00.000-08:00

Sensible: What is it you want, exactly!?

Glen: ummm ... well what I REALLY want is a simple technique that makes my well lit, properly colored pics turn into luscious B&W images that just ooze with delicious silvery drama.

Sensible: Yeah, well, good luck with that. You might wanna try the K-Mart down in ... ummm ... Ulaanbataar.

Glen: Is that near Doylestown? Duh, nice try. Even I know the K-Mart actions are just cheap Chinese knock-offs. Meanwhile ... I'll accept a technique that lets me tweak a few knobs to get somewhere close to that in ... say ... 2 minutes :D

Sensible: We're approaching planet Reality now.

Glen: But I never got my in-flight drink ...?

Sensible: What control do you need to get this ... errr ... "silvery drama" thingy you're looking for? I assume it will involve -
   a. Control of tone-to-gray mapping
   b. Vignetting, toning, grain, yada yada
   b. Dodge and burn control
   c. Control of local and global contrast

Glen: I think it comes down to the tone mapping. I can do all the other stuff pretty fast the old fashioned way. What I need is a technique that corrects any and all color problems and then does the perfect tone-map to B&W. Of course, the tone-mapping will need to be different for landscapes ... portraits ... yada yada

Sensible: I'll get back to you.

Glen: Yeah, that's pretty much what I thought. Meanwhile, here is an example of an image that needs better technique.

83 Confessions of a B&W Tweaker

2010-01-26T09:51:00.000-08:00

Last night I spent a couple of hours exploring various methods for converting color photos to B&W. If you're interested, I've posted them below labeled with the technique I used. These have NOT been TWILG'ed yet. In general, you'll note that the results are not dramatically different. These methods all deal with technique and, as such, represent tools in your toolbox. But there is no magic method that you can wave over an image and ... poof ... you get beautiful B&W. You still have to manipulate overall density, detail preservation, local and overall dynamic range, tone mapping ... yada yada yada.

Jeff Ascough warns that the most important first step is getting color balance right. Otherwise, your tone-mapping will be unnatural looking.

In playing with these various methods, I realized that some allow you more control and some less. Of course, too much rope and you might hang yourself. Be careful. In the final analysis, however, it seems that it comes back to personal artistic preference. Squeeze the tube from the end or from the middle. Whatever you like. (Unless you live with me. Then it has to be the end.)

The following examples were created using pretty strict adherence to the instructions here: The Digital Photography School.

Lab Color Method

This technique involves converting to lab color, copying the luminance channel, converting back to RGB and then pasting the luminance channel into each of the R,G and B channels. This retains a pretty natural feel which I like. Overall contrast needs a boost but that would be easy to add.

Hue-Saturation Method

This method actually gives you a lot of fine-grained control because it allows you to tweak the hues in the image but, as you can see, it enables you to over-process and get an unnatural and flat look. There are bits of this I like and bits I don't. Maybe this would be a good type of layer to add for masking in the good bits. Not sure.

Gradient Method

Here one simply creates a gradient layer in PS and then adjusts the gradient sliders. I like this method, too. It is easy. It results in a very natural look and it lets you quickly adjust black level, white level, midpoint and overall contrast. I think the tone mapping is just a straight luminance channel conversion to gray, however.

Channel Mix 72-28-10

This technique lets you blend the R,G and B channels separately. I used 72%, 28%, 10% for this image. In theory, I like this approach. In practice, I couldn't get a happy result. I added a softlight overlay to pump contrast a smidge and still wasn't happy. I think it is because the eyes lost their sparkle. That could be fixed with dodge/burn but, hey, what can't!?

One last comment (for now). I subscribe to Kathleen Connally's philosophy. Don't boil all the flavor out of it (my liberal paraphrase). It's easy to over-work an image. Be gentle. That's why I called it tweaking ... small adjustments.

More to come. Till then ...
Peace,
Glen

PS - thanks to MJ for posing so perfectly still for all of these pics!

82 Black and White Photographs - Not as Easy as it Looks

2010-01-25T07:20:00.000-08:00

This young lad and I encountered each other at a recent wedding. He was having fun with the camera his mom had handed him and he seemed such a poster-child for the joy of photography. He and I squared-off ... camera to camera ... mano-y-mano. Or, I guess, cámara-y-cámara? I think I won though I never actually looked at his pictures ... hmmm ... now I wonder?

Working on this image, however, frustrated me because I couldn't get the black-and-white tones that I wanted. This frustration has prompted me to go on a quest for better B&W technique. Join me if you dare. Or better yet, drop me some advice and save me a lot of hard lessons :)

Clearly all the panels but especially the third panel from the left is blown out. So there are some easy things for me to fix but before I do, I want to get a bit more disciplined in my B&W technique. Wax-on ... wax-off

Tones, textures, forms, lines, motion ... all of these take front when in black and white. Color is like candy. The sugar makes your tongue tingle but it doesn't satisfy like richer and more complex flavors can.

I foolishly thought I would do a quick google search and learn pretty much everything I need to know in about an hour. An hour later I learned that either nobody really knows anything or they're hiding it better than their Aunt Irene's Christmas gift.

Let me save you an hour of google searching in one sentence. "It aint easy and you have to do it to suit your artistic taste". If you'd rather read that same thing from 100 famous photogs ... feel free to waste an hour. Or you can buy one of their books and pay for the same message. Fine by me.

Of course there are some essentials that have more to do with basic photography than B&W artistry per-se.
o Skin tones should look natural
o Eyes should pop and have expression
o yada yada yada

This is no scientific analysis but I have found 50 Lightroom Presets and then ran this image through them (thank God for preview) and found the best preset I could for this image (posted above). Then I used the Nik Silver Efex Pro technique (to the left). Let me know which one is better. The top is a tad more contrasty. I intentionally added some film grain to this one (Nik SEP lets you do that).
Silver Efex Pro

I'm going to keep practicing and reading. I'll post the stuff I learn or at least the mistakes I make along the way.

Peace out bean sprouts,
Glen

81 The Little Things Count (or Death by a Thousand Papercuts)

2010-01-20T12:14:00.000-08:00

WARNING - This post may cause skilled photographers to begin twitching, trembling and erupting with sharp outbursts of "I can't take one more crappy amateur photograph or I'll snap!".

For the rest of you (Hi Mom), did you immediately spot my rookie mistakes in this "Where is Waldo?" of photographic wrong-doings? Of course my excuse is that it was cold and we were in a rush and I just wanted to snap this one last shot before running back to the car and turning on the heater. That leads me to ...

Mistake #1 - Never compromise just because you're in a hurry ... or you're cold.

If it is worth pressing the shutter, it's worth extra seconds to compose. Hey, at least if you skip the shot you won't have a forever reminder of your bone-headed mistakes.

There may be those who would argue that we should never ignore that little voice that says "take this one". But isn't that the same voice that Mom and Pop Schwartzfuss hear when they click away on their Canon ELPH? Isn't a measure of our artistry our ability to edit ... to say no? Obviously you can see above that it isn't one of mine.

Mistake #2 - Know when to keep things sharp.

I love bokeh. I love a nice sharp foreground framed by a beautiful creamy background. Who doesn't? But there are shots where our eyes want to see EVERYTHING. This is one of those. This deserved to be shot with a tripod at f16. I didn't have a tripod but I should've found a way to brace the camera.

Mistake #3 - You can always crop but you can't get back what you left out.

Now in post, I really want to see the ends of those roots and a titch more trunk.

Mistake #4 - Watch your shadows!

Ok, you spotted this right away. I know, I know. Hi, camera strap and elbow! Let me memorialize you forever on top of this otherwise beautiful picture.

Late sun makes long shadows. Long shadows sneak into my shots like ... well ... sneaky things. If the light is good you better assume there are little shadow monsters lurking in your picture somewhere. Two more seconds of composing and I would have spotted that.

Mistake #5 - Skies aren't white

If you can help it, try to keep something interesting in your sky. In this case, I could have. I could have kept the shadow detail and still underexposed another stop. This was a candidate for HDR techniques.

Some other equally sloppy shots were taken in a much too hurried manner that fateful evening. All of them suffering from these same woeful maladies.

Here is another -

Peace,
Glen

80 A Little Break Is Nice

2010-01-18T14:40:00.000-08:00

I really miss my inane posting indulgences. But truth be told ... I didn't have any pictures worth posting. Fortunately, Mary Jane and I have gone on a couple of trips over the holidays which afforded me opportunities to take some photographs. I use those as excuse to share my completely irrational and incoherent posts for those who enjoy self-torment.
But at least, according to my twisted logic, there is a picture to justify your patience as you suffer through the verbal baggage attached.
It's good to be back at the keyboard. I promise .... really ... not to take such a long break between posts. I just needed it.
This is an image of MJ on the beach at Jekyll Island. A lovely and picturesque place. More pics to come. It was cold. As you can see. But the light was magic and worth sharing. Peace,Glen

79 The Potter's Hand

2009-12-10T15:01:00.000-08:00

There is a certain brutality to the invasive assertion of a will not our own ... an infliction of necessary hurt by an unrelenting press upon our most unyielding parts ... a forceful shaping by a stronger hand. When it is man-against-man, we call it slavery ... or worse. When it is the work of God on those who have chosen His road, it is a kindness beyond comprehension. It is the love of a father for His children.

When that hand meets a locus of resistance - a knot - it will be removed with a great tearing and painful force. But it will produce a purer work, one without spot or blemish. The aim that it would result in a masterpiece perfectly suited to the purpose for which it was created. The determination of that aim is upon us. If there is an ultimate yielding then the aim is accomplished. If not, the rending is complete and cannot be repaired.

Yield while you can to the kindness of God and remember that his hand is strong but gentle. His force is measured to the resistance.

~~~~

Don't forget ... it takes practice to perfect artistry.

Peace,

Glen

78 Tone Poems for the Tone Deaf

2009-12-04T11:54:00.001-08:00

Where have I been? Hmmm ... clearly lost in the ether somewhere. It's good to be back :)

I've always been a fan of the photographic "tone poem". Too often, however, it is used as a description to justify a poorly focused image. But you know one when you see one. There is a rhythm and a percussion. There is rhyme and reverberation; a swish and a swirl. There are deep mysterious caverns of darkness punctuated with high noted accents . If you listen carefully with your eyes you will hear the low thrum of electric power and the shrill staccato chirp of jungle birds. What does all this nonsense mean ... it means there really aren't good words to describe a tone poem. They evoke. They don't describe.

With that said. These images aren't tone poems by any means. They are, in some small way perhaps, a certain blending of style ... a fusion ... a tempering of strict rendition with softer forces.

Whatever they are ... I hope you enjoy them.

Don't forget to see the poetry in your subjects and celebrate the beautiful rhythms God has placed underneath all of His creation!

Peace,

Glen

77 The Smell of Something Artificial

2009-11-09T14:47:00.000-08:00

Though I am still a novice photographer, I am aware of a certain deepening of artistry. A well respected photographer whose name I can't recall at the moment remarked that young photographers tend to pull in for tight shots but that older photographers learn the value of context and place (a bit of a paraphrase on my part).

It also reminded me of a time when I enjoyed hunting for collectable old furniture and a wise collector warned me then not to be overcome by the glitter of polished brass. That that was a young man's game. But rather to appreciate the beauty of joinery and grain.

One of the tendencies that I had early on was to over-process and, as I look back over some of my work, I realize the ones I love most are the ones I worked least. This train of thought came as I was selecting images for today's post. I was reviewing the last few fall foliage shots. I had run some curves on many of them but there were a few I hadn't touched. These are two of the untouched ones. They remain more natural and have a greater believability. They don't smell like artificiality. Maybe it's all in my head. We'll see.

Of course, it isn't possible to capture and reproduce a scene with perfect neutrality especially in this modern digital era.

And maybe it's a pendulum that swings back and forth until arriving at perfect equilibrium.

My post-processing technique will mature, too. And will become a more refined artistry. Then perhaps I will be able to pull out greater beauty without leaving the smell of artifice.

Till then, maybe I'll step back and take a bigger view. I'll process less and spend more time appreciating the beauty that comes naturally.

Peace friends,

Glen